1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data management technique, and particularly to a technique for managing an image data file expressing an observation image in a camera that records the aforementioned observation image of a microscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
A microscope-use digital camera for photographing an observation image of a microscope, generating and recording image data expressing the aforementioned observation image is equipped with a storage medium that is capable of being read from and written to by a computer (simply “PC” hereinafter) such as a flexible disk or a semiconductor memory card. Such image data expressing an observation data recorded by the storage medium is generally stored as an image data file (simply “image file” hereinafter) conforming to a general purpose image-use data format allowing a displaying on a PC, such as the JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) system.
In the meantime, the number of images (i.e., the number of image files) that one recording medium records has been on the increase keeping pace with recent capacity increases of storage media, possibly reaching anywhere from thousands to as many as tens of thousands. This makes it imperative to enable a microscope-use digital camera to put image files recorded by a storage medium in order. With regards to such a function, generally propagating is for example a microscope-use digital camera with a group delete function enabling a deletion of all image files in a storage medium simply in one operation or a function enabling an observing person to delete an unnecessary image file by specifying it. Also widely popular is a PC-controlled microscope-use digital camera which is furnished with the function of the camera connecting to a PC so as to enable a camera control, image recording, replay handling, et cetera, and of recording and storing an image file for an already photographed image by using a PC which comprises a typical large capacity hard disk apparatus, larger than a storage medium detachably attachable to the camera. Such a camera is capable of diverse kinds of file handling by the functions typically equipped in a PC, such as an image file sorting function, an image file group delete function by an observing person specifying a plurality of images, or a file name change function in addition to the above described file group delete function and specified image delete function.
Conventionally various techniques have been proposed with regard to such data file arrangement functions.
For example, a laid-open Japanese patent application publication No. 10-124353 has disclosed a technique for recording image files with the recording date & time in a recording medium, deleting an image with an old recording date & time automatically and at the same time deleting an image with the oldest recording date & time when the remaining recording capacity of the recording medium becomes smaller than a setup value, thereby relieving the user of a file arrangement handling and enabling a recording medium with a small recording capacity to photograph more images. This technique, however, can erroneously erase an image, with an old recording date & time, which it is desired to store, and cannot group images stored by a storage medium into unnecessary and necessary images groups, respectively.
For another example, a laid-open Japanese patent application publication No. 2002-24067 has disclosed a technique for holding a setup file including user information and allowing an access only to a file identifying with the selected user information, thereby improving a usage convenience by enabling a setup for each user preference even if an apparatus is being shared. This technique, however, requires a specific setup file, hence making the configuration of the apparatus complex.
For yet another example, a laid-open Japanese patent application publication No. 2002-176578 has disclosed a technique for separating a music file and an image file from each other and making it possible to delete them either one by one or as a group, thereby improving a file arrangement performance. This document, however, does not disclose anything about an observing person setting up a category of files to be separated.
For still another example, a laid-open Japanese patent application publication No. 2002-369120 has disclosed a technique for making it possible to delete transmitted or received images grouped in an electronic image apparatus such as an electronic camera with a telecommunication function for exchanging images with the outside. But the technique premises a transmission of and a reception of an image file.
For yet still another example, a Japanese patent publication No. 3446524 has disclosed a technique for recording an identifier code along with recording an image by a camera, making it possible to identify whether the file stored by a recording medium is an image file of the camera itself or is made by another apparatus such as another camera when the camera handles the image file, and prohibiting erasing a file made by the other apparatus when the observing person operates the camera to delete an image, thereby enabling the protection of an image made by another apparatus. This technique, however, leaves a possibility of deleting an image recorded by another person who photographed and stored it by using the camera itself in the case of a plurality of observing persons sharing one camera.
For yet further example, a laid-open Japanese patent application publication No. 2003-196077 has disclosed a technique for removing an image designated for printing from the subject of erasure, thereby preventing an image to be printed later from being erased. The technique, however, provides no particular consideration to an image to be stored but not to be printed.